little loves

Another week, another little loves. Sunday I had my family's (extended family) big holiday party. We ate and we white elephant-ed. Other than that it was the usual working, date nights, and blogging. Friday my boyfriends band had a gig at a new place in Akron, Saturday I celebrated one of my best friends birthdays with her and a few other ladies. We had Nutella, guacamole, drinks, and other various fattening foods. Overall it was great week! I hope all you lovelies had a wonderful week too!

Two of the earrings I got from my first giveaway host and sponsor Phul Effect. I have been switching back and forth between the two and getting lots of compliments on them. Don't forget my readers get 15% off and FREE shipping with code LOVELY15! 

I have the amazing opportunity to work with the amazing company Amika. They sent me this sexy (yes I did say sexy) hair dryer to review and something for my readers too. I will be filming my video review soon so stay tuned for that and the giveaway!

Found these drawer inserts from Bed, Bath, and Beyond that fit perfectly in my Helmer! I can't wait to figure out how to organize my make-up in them. 

 A lovely little cup of chai I got from my Starbucks this week.

And last but certainly not least is a big Happy Birthday to one of my 3 

best friends Kae who's birthday is today!

jason wu for target

Forget about Missoni for Target, Jason Wu's collection is about to hit stores and I have been laying out my game plan. Missoni was never really my thing, but I'm lusting over almost every piece in the Jason Wu collection. With the collection due for stores February 5th, and not a single piece over $59.99 I am ready to get in line and get my little piece of Jason Wu. 

What I love most about his collection, is well.. the collection. It's beautiful, clean, timeless, brilliant, and just all around lovely! It doesn't hurt that a cat plays a part in his collection, because deep down I am really just a crazy cat lady. There are positives and negatives about living in the suburbs of Ohio, on the down side many of the stores around me won't carry the full collection or more than a few of each piece, however on the VERY positive side I don't have to fight over too many crazies to get to the pieces I really want, like you will probably have to do if you live in NYC or somewhere.

With the look-book launched, and videos circling YouTube I am still narrowing down the pieces I want (ok I want them all, but that I can afford). I know without a doubt I want the black and white satchel (second bag down), the blue pleated shift dress (bottom right), and a few blouses. I also really REALLY love the cream flared dress (also available in black) with the black lace petticoat peaking out (bottom left) but I will have to try that one on because that fit typically doesn't do much for my shape. 

These are just some of my favorite pieces and looks. You can find out more about this collection from this Pop Sugar video, Glamour post, and of course Target. Also you can find a complete list of stores that will have the Jason Wu collection on the Target Style Facebook page.

Will you be lining up for any of the Jason Wu collection? If so what are the pieces you'll be heading towards first?

julep maven giveaway winner

Last week I posted a little video about an awesome company called Julep. They gave me the awesome opportunity to giveaway one of their maven boxes (the same boxes that go out to the editors at Allure and Vogue) to one of my lucky readers. On Wednesday however I received one of my Julep Maven boxes in the mail and announced on my Facebook page I would be giving mine away too, simply because I love you guys and everyone was so excited about this giveaway! Trust me I love my maven boxes and if I didn't love my readers more I would definitely be keeping it for myself. 

Thank you to EVERYONE who entered, it means the world to me. I have quite a few more giveaways over the next 2 months (including my most valuable one yet) so make sure to check back often.

For those who didn't win, don't forget you can get your first maven box for only $5! Just give it a try, all you have to lose is $5 (not to mention you're getting over $40 in product). Just enter the code NEW5 at checkout :)

And without further ado...

The winners must e-mail ME by February 3rd to claim their prize. 

alovelylittleblog@gmail.com

beauty haul

Hello lovelies! This is my first "haul" video on beauty products I picked up from CVS, Bloom.com, Sephora, Target, + Ulta. 

I hope you lovelies enjoy seeing what products I have gotten lately. Have you tried any of these? What products are your favorite? I would love to know!

I would love it, if you would subscribe to my little YouTube Channel!

julep maven review + giveaway

p.s. I have no idea why I say blueish-pinkish. I obviously meant blueish-purpleish ;)

When I first found out I had the amazing opportunity to work with Julep I was beyond ecstatic! First and foremost I love nail polish, but after a couple clicks through the website I knew they were a BIG up-and-coming polish company. After all my beauty bible Allure has featured them, not to mention Elle, Lucky, and everything in between. The cherry on top of it all, Julep polishes are free of DBP, formaldehyde, and toluene.

Once I found out about the Julep Maven program I was even more excited. Once a month you get delivered the same products that are sent to your favorite beauty editors at Allure, Glamour, Etc. Unlike other subscription companies these are FULL size products! The Maven program has lots of amazing benefits including:

♥ 20% off ANY Julep purchases and always FREE shipping.

♥ $1 from every sale goes to benefit Powered by Girlfriends.

♥ The ability to pause or re-direct your next box to a girlfriend (what an awesome Birthday gift!)

♥ Referral program

♥ High end polishes and products delivered right to your FRONT DOOR, Duh!

Normally the Maven program costs $20 but my readers can get their first month for only $5. YES $5, really! All you have to do is enter the code NEW5 at checkout! What do you have to lose? At least try it for one month and then if you decide it isn't for you cancel, pause, or re-direct it to a friend! 

Your Julep Maven box may vary from colors pictured above.

Of course last but not least Julep was kind enough to give out a FREE Julep Maven Box to ONE of my lucky readers! 

Over $40 worth of polish and beauty products!

Contest Rules:

- Head on over to Julep FB page and click the LIKE button! 

- Head on over to my FB page and click the LIKE button!

- Leave a comment below and tell me your FB name.

- Contest ends at January 26, 2012 at 11.59 PM EST.

-Contest only open to US + Canada residents. Sorry :(

- Winner will be announced on January 27, 2012 

- One entry per person please

One additional entry for each of the following:

- Following a lovely little blog on Twitter

Make sure to include your Twitter handle in your comment below

Make sure to include your YouTube name in your comment below

Best of luck lovelies!!

And don't forget to use the code NEW5 at checkout to get your 

intro Maven box for only $5 if you become a Maven like me!

january birch box

After over a year of lusting after this little pink box I finally took the plunge and signed up for a month-to-month subscription to Birchbox. For those of you who aren't familiar with Birchbox it is a monthly subscription service that sends you 4-5 handpicked deluxe beauty samples right to your door for only $10 (no shipping) a month. If you are a beauty lover the big appeal is trying out products that normally run around or over the $20 price point before splurging and buying them. Plus I LOVE samples, real samples like these, not the kind you tear out of magazines. And I have the best way to utilize samples, which I will share in an upcoming VLOG.

Anyway, back to Birchbox... it finally came and to say I was excited is a severe understatement. It came in a pink outer box and then inside a beautiful letter pressed box with pink writing. The products were wrapped nicely in pink tissue and some were even bundled together and tied with a ribbon. It also came with a card describing the contents and what the full size product would cost.

In my specific Birchbox I received the following products:

Jouer Moisturizing Lip Gloss

Zoya "Feel" Collection Polish

C.O. Bigelow Shampoo + Conditioner

Lara Mini Bar

Juicy Couture "Viva La Juicy" Perfume

...and a cute little magnet with the BB logo on it. I'm not sure if this only comes in the first shipment but it's adorable.

I was really impressed with my first BB, and it's contents. And after seeing the 19 different boxes that went out I believe mine was best suited for me, thanks to the beauty profile I filled out before receiving my first box.

I love the mini lip gloss, it might possibly be the cutest little gloss I have ever seen. I was hesitant at first because the shade looked so pink but it ended up not so bright on. Plus it has a great texture and not sticky at all. I had never heard of Jouer before this BB and definitely will keep an eye out for them now. 

The Zoya polish is by far my favorite part of this BB not only because of its size (it's practically a full size bottle), and color, but because it is the sample that is most relevant to me. I love new polish colors and this shade isn't like any others I have to date.

Did I mention it's practically full size?! Look at it next to a full size Essie!!

The C.O. Bigelow set was something I was definitely excited to try out, especially because I have heard a lot about the brand. I tried it for few days but was not all that impressed with it. The smell was really nice and natural but I had to use quite a bit (1/4 of the mini bottle) to even get the slightest lather going (although I do have long hair). I think I like the conditioner better and might possibly even consider trying out a full size version. I will have to wait and see how I feel once there is no more left.

I was underwhelmed with the Juicy fragrance but probably mostly because I had just received the exact same sample in my Sephora order the day before and didn't enjoy the smell. I also felt like it wasn't that "deluxe" of a sample because you could easily get this kind of sample from a department store. But that being said, it was the spray version sample and not just a vial which was nice and had it been a fragrance liked I might have been happier.

Last but not least was the Lara Bar which is actually considered a "Lifestyle Extra". I quite enjoyed the little thing but I already purchase Lara Bars so it was nothing new to me.

One of the cool things about Birchbox is that they allow you to get free shipping on any of the BB products that month, you can also buy them direct through the BB website. Another neat thing is the Birchbox points. You earn points for your first box, a yearly subscription, referring friends, buying products, surveys and more. Then you can cash them in to use towards a product of our choice!

Overall I loved my January Birchbox and can't wait to get next months already. I think i got my $10 worth, considering the Zoya practically paid for the box itself. It is always nice to get something through snail mail and especially when it is wrapped so pretty too. My plan is to continue until July with the month-to-month if I am still happy, and then ask for a year subscription for my birthday.

If you decide to try out Birchbox because of me, won't you so kindly use my referral link HERE. Then you can pass your own referral links on to your friends. 

Do any of you lovelies subscribe to BB, if so which box did you get?

little loves

This week was honestly pretty much a bore. All work and no play. Me and the boyfriend did mange to sneak out Thursday for sushi at Sakura and then tried out Menchie's for the first time. It was so delicious! Friday I got snowed in due to my awful tires, and severe driving anxiety, and Saturday my mother hosted a martini party and of course I helped. Tonight is another date night with my love, and I want nothing more than to cuddle up and order in some food. When winter rolls around here in Northeast Ohio I go into hibernation- for real.

There are only a few good things about this time of year, and delicious citrus happens to be one of them.

One of my favorite dinners is goldfish soup. It is really just vegetable soup with a ton of goldfish thrown in, but it is heaven.

Made jello shots in lemon and lime slices for the martini party. They were a huge hit!

My pride and glory, a mini cake batter martini for the party. Found the idea on the blog that sucked approximately 7 hours out of my life this week, How Sweet It Is.

Got my first ever Birchbox this week!! So excited, and very pleased with the contents!

 Blog post to come this week!

mark favorites giveaway winner

Last week I posted a video about my favorite MARK products. 

Along with that video was a chance to win all this awesome loot!!

Total was valued over $45!

The lucky winner is one of my Facebook followers so I am than happy that she won some  MARK loot to try!

Congratulations to Cara! 

Please e-mail me at alovelylittleblog@gmail.com to claim your prize!

Thank you to all who entered, and don't you worry because there are PLENTY more give-aways to come!

the spot

If you follow me on Facebook, you've already heard me talk about The Spot a few times. 

Even if you don't follow me on Facebook, you probably saw this picture I posted last week in my little loves.

I mentioned then a little about The Spot (and it's beautiful entrance). But what is The Spot really? It's sounds so mysterious and confusing. Well I talked with Matthew, one of the minds behind the ingenious little idea and got the scoop for you lovelies.

                                                                                                                             Photo Credits: Heidi M. Rolf

What is "The Spot"?

"The Spot is many things. Most of all it is a community art space. We use it for rehearsal space, jam sessions, recording, an art gallery, and a music venue. We just had a fashion show too! And oh yeah, we like to throw big parties, meaning:

Once a month, we book 4 - 5 local artists and have them deck out our walls. We also book three eclectic musical acts, ranging from jazz, classical, folk, bluegrass, rock, soul, avant garde, dance, and DJs, to really anything cool that our friends are doing. Our gallery opens at nine with the gallery music, and then things heat up around 10:30 with the second musical act. It almost always ends with dancing.

We also have an artist raffle, where those who donated for raffle tickets ($1 each) will enter into a drawing for featured artists work, and musician's albums. Typically there are at least five prizes!

If you are of age, there are some tasty refreshments (thirsty dog brews) available for a donation, but you can also bring your own sauce (once again, if you're of age)."

                                                                                                Photo Credits: Heidi M. Rolf

Where is "The Spot"?

"27 N. High Street Akron OH 44308"


Does it cost money?

"NO. It is very important to the team behind the spot that anyone can get in for free and have a good time. However, we do run off of donations. These donations go directly towards paying our performers, meeting costs for events, and improving our space (when we got it, it was a dark dusty tomb filled with ancient computer parts)."

                                                                                                                                                                        Photo Credits: Heidi M. Rolf

Is there parking?

"Best place to park during an event is the library garage on high street. It's free at that time. You just take a left out of the garage, cross market, take a hop, skip, and a step, and you're there."


Is anyone invited?

"Everyone is invited and welcome to our events! 

However we don't really like violent aggressive types."

                                                                                                Photo Credits: Heidi M. Rolf
 

                                                                                                                                                                        Photo Credits: Heidi M. Rolf

If I am an artist how can I get involved?
"Come to one of our events and hang out with us! The Spot is all about the community. We want to make friends with as many awesome artists and musicians as possible. Let us know what kind of stuff you do."

Anything else my readers should know about The Spot?

"If you've been to an event before, bring some friends to the next one.

If you haven't been to an event before, bring some friends to the next one!"

This Friday is The Spots next big event, with all different types of artists, and music. 

I will be there for sure. Will you?

Follow The Spot on Facebook

RSVP to The Spot Event NO.4

mark favorites

I hope all you lovelies enjoy this video! I really love selling MARK and even more than that, love the products. 
Please feel free to e-mail me with any MARK questions at LMH.MARK@gmail.com.


Have any of you lovelies tried a MARK product? Would love to hear your feedback!


In order of appearence:

Primed for Perfection Primer - $10

Just Pinched in Nude + Peachy - $8
Get in Line in Painted Black- $6.50
No Place to Run -$9
The Big Fix - $10
Back Me Up - $10
Mega Volume - $6
Curly-Q - $7
Cheat Sheets - $6


ORDER HERE
...and don't forget to use the code WELCOME for FREE SHIPPING!

ENTER TO WIN:

Super Flash Cosmetic Bag

Nailed It Mini Lacquer Set

Mega Volume Root Lifting Spray

+

Super Flip Kit with Bronzer/Blush palette and 9 shadows

Retails for $45

Contest Rules:

- Head on over to my eBoutique and choose your favorite item.

- Leave a comment below and tell me your choice.

- Contest ends at January 13, 2012 at 11.59 PM EST.

-Contest only open to US + Canada residents. (sorry)

- Winner will be announced on January 14, 2012 

- One entry per person please

One additional entry for each of the following:

- LIKING a lovely little blog on Facebook

Make sure to include your Facebook name in your comment below

Make sure to include your YouTube name in your comment below

new years resolutions

My good friend Kaylee shared with her friends on Facebook her 2012 resolutions. What was different about hers was that she made one for each month. Because let's face it most of us can't keep up with a year long resolution, or we get too intimidated before we even try. The really genius idea to making one for each month is that more than likely you're not just going to stop the kick ass fitness plan you've been working all month because it's over. So even though my January goal is to attend at least one yoga class a week, by Febuary hopefully I will be used to doing it and therefor keep at it.

Anyway I totally stole her idea and made a resolution for each month. Things I have wanted to do for years now and just never get around to them. I also have a few year long resolutions, and some top secret blog resolutions too!

Do you lovelies have any resolutions? I would love to hear them!

What do you think about a resolution for each month?

little loves

What can I say about this week? FAST! I had so many parties, gatherings, and events this week that the time just flew by! I had a blast on New Years Eve at my boyfriends gig at the Tangier in Akron. Also putting the finishing touches on my new monthly beauty segment for another blog, brainstormed an awesome new post idea with a few other beauty bloggers, and even got a few errands done.

My good friend Heather made these lovely little desserts for me. They were so amazing! Mini red-velvet cupcakes, chocolate chip cookie dough truffles, and Irish car bomb cupcakes. If you're in the area she is available for hire! She also made these little pizzas too!

If you're in the Akron area and you are looking for something different and fun to do, you have to check out The Spot. A art exhibit/music show/party (and more!) on the second Friday of each month at a hip free space. This is how you enter the event, just imagine whats inside!

I have been looking for this Chanel bronzer everywhere for months. I snagged the LAST tub of it at Dillard's Summit Mall this weekend! Just in time for New Years. Gives you the most beautiful glow ever!

DRESS - WATCH - PUMPS - PURSE

Little idea of what I wore for New Years. Of course I didn't get any good outfit pics but you get the idea. I also wore sheer black tights, these amazing stud earrings, and a gold cuff on the opposite hand as my watch. I got lots of compliments and most importantly because I wore Gianni Bini pumps my feet didn't hurt all night!

Me and my baby on New Years ♥